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“How did Shelby know who the Cowen brothers were?” She didn’t bother facing Jack, since it was impossible to see his face. His heat warmed her back, beckoning her to lean against his solid strength, and his ironlike arm across her waist comforted her.

Jack stiffened for an instant, but after exhaling, he relaxed against her. “If I don’t tell you, you’ll simply ask him, won’t you?”

A reluctant grin tipped the corners of her mouth upward.

Jack knew her so well.

Better than anyone else, other than Roxina. “I shall.”

If only he could love her.

“There are many facets about Tellinger that he keeps private.” Jack’s thighs flexed beneath her bottom as the arm around her waist tightened minutely. “One of which is that he is a bounty hunter on occasion. A very good bounty hunter, and that is why the Cowens tucked their tails and fled. He’d likely seen their wanted posters. I’ve little doubt that he would have attempted to bring them in if you and Roxina hadn’t been present.”

“You don’t say?” Aubriella stretched her neck again to catch a glimpse of Shelby speaking in low tones to Roxina. “He doesn’t look like what I imagine a bounty hunter would look like. Not rough and burly and threatening.”

Jack chuckled, the warm resonance causing an answering peal in her heart. “It’s cliché, but appearances can be deceiving.”

“My da Vinci drawings are of human dissections.” Aubriella wasn’t sure why she blurted that secret to Jack. Perhaps to see his reaction. Mayhap because she wanted to share something so important with another person, and he was the only one who might understand her fascination with the human form.

Another chuckle vibrated his chest before he pulled her closer, and this time, she distinctly felt him nuzzle the back of her head through her bonnet.

A tiny seed of hope took root.

“You are the most fascinating, intriguing, remarkable, daring woman.”

She wrinkled her nose. Not the romantic declarations she yearned for. “I’m sure you meant those as compliments, Jack, but they make me sound like an eccentric old tabby.” She grinned at the image of herself, a wrinkled, bespeckled old prune hunched over naughty drawings. “Which I suppose I am.”

“An utterly delightful eccentric.” Amusement accented each syllable. “And assuredly not an old tabby.”

Jack had never disdained or disparaged her unusual interests.

The owl hooted again, or perchance it was another answering the first.

A cow, disturbed from her rest by their passing, mooed a low protest in the nearby meadow. The snow blanketing the fields and covering the houses like icing on pastries gave the landscape a fairytale-like appearance.

“You’ll need to pen a letter to your family to let them know you are all right,” Jack murmured in her ear, his warm breath causing a delicious little shiver to scuttle across her shoulders. “They were quite frantic.”

“That I find hard to believe.” Her sarcasm grated harshly in her ears. “That’s why I’m moving to the house my Aunt Astrid left me before they return. I’m tired of being an outsider—a misunderstood peculiarity—in my own home.”

That plan had not changed, despite the unexpected delay.

After resting for a few hours, Aubriella would pack her most cherished and necessary belongings. If Roxina still wanted to accompany her, they would depart before the sun dipped low on the horizon tomorrow.

“Promise me you won’t do anything until I call upon you.” Jack squeezed her ribs when she didn’t respond. “Please, Aubrie. I must check on the fire damage in one of my restaurants, but as soon as I have done so, I would like to speak with you about an important matter.”

Gasping, she gripped his forearm and twisted to look at him.

“Fire? Oh, Jack, that’s awful. Was anyone hurt?”

He hadn’t been trying to renege on their wager, as she’d believed. Nevertheless, the tragedy gave him an excuse to do just that.

“No one was injured, thank God. But I have to evaluate the extent of the damage.” A yawn escaped him. He must be exhausted.

“I don’t think there is any reason for me to delay my plans to move, Jack.” Neck bent, Aubriella stared at the shadowy landscape. “I’ve known for a while that I needed to do something different. Get on with my life. Forge a path for myself.”

It didn’t matter that she didn’t know precisely what her future looked like. But that was fine. She could anticipate the journey.

“We can talk about that when I call.” Jack nudged her chin upward, forcing her to meet his eyes in the darkness. “Please promise me, Aubrie.”